Up To $123 Million Available to Support Community Development in Low-Income Communities

November 3, 2011

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) today released its fiscal year (FY) 2012 Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program). The CDFI Fund is providing up to $123 million in Financial and Technical Assistance awards, subject to final appropriations, for the FY 2012 funding round. The awards will support Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) providing affordable financing and related services to low-income communities and populations that lack access to credit, capital, and financial services.

“I am pleased to announce the opening of the FY 2012 funding round of our flagship program – the CDFI Program – that will greatly support CDFIs serving distressed communities across the country,” said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. “CDFIs play a critically important role in these communities by promoting economic opportunities and the CDFI Program is a vital tool for expanding the capacity of these CDFIs to increase their lending activities.”

The $123 million available for the FY 2012 funding round includes $25 million that will be used for Financial Assistance awards under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). In addition to providing details regarding the HFFI Financial Assistance awards, the NOFA includes information on other important changes being implemented this round. These changes include:

the anticipation that, after being waved the last three rounds, that Matching Funds will be required for Financial Assistance applicants;

the ability for Financial Assistance applicants to earn distress points for serving highly distressed communities; and

the use of a single fillable PDF application for all narratives and charts, to be used for both Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance applicants.

In order to provide potential applicants with as much time as possible to complete their application, the CDFI Fund is posting the NOFA and application materials on the Grants.gov website today in advance of the publication of the NOFA in the Federal Register on November 7, 2011. Applicants are urged to read all application materials and additional guidance. Reference copies of the NOFA and related application materials can also be found on the CDFI Fund's website.

CDFI Program Overview

Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. The CDFI Fund invests in certified CDFIs by awarding Financial Assistance awards to applicants who have demonstrated the financial and managerial capacity to provide financial products and services to a low-income target market and to leverage additional resources effectively. Through Technical Assistance grants, the CDFI Fund enables certified CDFIs and emerging entities working toward certification to build their capacity as lending institutions.

Deadlines

The CDFI Program application deadline is January 11, 2012 at 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time.

An applicant seeking Financial Assistance that is not currently certified as a CDFI, or a certified CDFI that is submitting a Material Events Form, must submit the relevant information by December 14, 2011 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

All Applicants must submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov. The CDFI Fund will not accept CDFI Program applications through myCDFIFund accounts nor will applications be accepted via email, mail, facsimile, or other forms of communication. Please see the NOFA for more information on submitting the CDFI Program application, the Certification application and the Material Events Form.

The CDFI Fund is providing the following opportunities to learn more about this funding round:

Pre-recorded Webinar Application Workshop: The CDFI Fund has pre-recorded the application workshop, which is available immediately for viewing by potential applicants. This webinar covers the same material that will be presented during on-site application workshops by CDFI Fund staff. This webinar can be viewed at the following link:http://treas.yorkcast.com/webcast/Viewer/?peid=9ff5fdfc12704e01b7da4baef24f8e1f1d

Q&A Webcasts: The CDFI Fund is conducting four one-hour live webcasts to provide a forum to answer applicant questions. Please see the following table for the dates and times for each Q&A webcast. No presentations will be given during the webcast; only questions emailed from participants will be taken and addressed. To access the webcast, please click on the following links just prior to the beginning of each webcast. No prior registration is necessary.

For more information on the CDFI Program, the webinar, Q&A webcasts, or the application workshops, please contact the CDFI Fund’s Office of Policy and Programs by e-mailing cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov or by calling (202) 622-6355.

CDFI Fund Background

The CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of community-based, private, for-profit and non-profit financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed communities. These institutions – certified by the CDFI Fund as Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs – are able to respond to gaps in local markets that traditional financial institutions are not adequately serving. CDFIs provide critically needed capital, credit and other financial products in addition to technical assistance to community residents and businesses, service providers, and developers working to meet community needs. The CDFI Fund's vision is an America in which all people have adequate access to affordable capital, credit and financial services.

For more information about these awards, or about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the Fund's website at: http://www.cdfifund.gov.